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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Bridget and you're listening the stuff Mom

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Speaker 1: never told you. Now today is my birthday. Well not

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Speaker 1: actually today, but the day that you'll be listening to

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Speaker 1: this will be my actual birthday. I don't usually do

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Speaker 1: much to celebrate my birthday because I'm usually working or traveling,

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Speaker 1: and this year is no exception. So in my mind,

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Speaker 1: it just made sense to make my day of birth

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Speaker 1: about some of DC's most vulnerable women. My birthday seemed

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Speaker 1: like the perfect time to raise awareness about an issue

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Speaker 1: that is very near and dear to my heart, fighting homelessness.

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Speaker 1: If you're anything like me, you might have an image

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Speaker 1: in your head what someone experiencing homelesness looks like, and

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Speaker 1: more often than not, that person is male. But women

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Speaker 1: experience homelessness too. In fact, according to the American College

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Speaker 1: of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, women and families are the fastest

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Speaker 1: growing segment of the almost population, with thirty percent of

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Speaker 1: the total homeless population composed of families, and of these

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Speaker 1: families are headed by women. And while the population of

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Speaker 1: women who are experiencing homelessness can often go overlooked, they

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Speaker 1: actually face unique challenges that their male counterparts just don't

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Speaker 1: have to deal with. I'm talking about challenges like fear

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Speaker 1: of sexual assault, or being pregnant and not having the

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Speaker 1: services you desperately need, or even something as simple as

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Speaker 1: what you're gonna do when you get your monthly period. Now,

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Speaker 1: we already know periods are stigmatized, even for women who

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Speaker 1: aren't experiencing homelessness, but that stigma can make it harder

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Speaker 1: for women to get the supplies they need to have healthy,

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Speaker 1: happy periods. I wanted to know more about these challenges,

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Speaker 1: so I called up Alicia Horton, the executive director of

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Speaker 1: Thrive DC, an organization that connects d c is homeless

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Speaker 1: with services and support they need. So, Alicia, you really

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Speaker 1: have a lifetime of service under your belt in the

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Speaker 1: social change space. So how did you come to this work? UM?

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Speaker 1: You know it's interesting. UM. My mother UM was also

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Speaker 1: very involved in UM providing how thing UH for UH

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Speaker 1: vulnerable individuals all of her professional life. So UM, I

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Speaker 1: don't know why she was surprised when I took up

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Speaker 1: the gauntlet UM so many years ago, but I think

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Speaker 1: I have really just UM come from a history of

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Speaker 1: UM social justice changemakers, and UM have followed in their footsteps. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you've definitely done so much of that work, um, and

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Speaker 1: I'm so personally inspired by the work that you do

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Speaker 1: with Thrive you see around homelessness, specifically reminding folks that

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Speaker 1: you know, when we think about the homeless community, we

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Speaker 1: think about men, And why is that? Why do you

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Speaker 1: think that so often the face of home people experiencing

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Speaker 1: homelessness is male when so many women are experiencing homelessness

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Speaker 1: as well. Well. Um, Actually the statistics bear out that

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Speaker 1: there are more men um who are being counted at

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Speaker 1: least um who are experiencing homelessness. So I think, you know,

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Speaker 1: our visual observations are supported by stats. However, Um, I

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Speaker 1: think women are suffering from various kinds of homelessness and

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Speaker 1: are a much more invisible community within the homelessness arena.

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Speaker 1: So um, I think when you are uh thinking about

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Speaker 1: women who are, for instance, sling domestic violence, you know,

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Speaker 1: they may not be living on the street, but they

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Speaker 1: are certainly um without an address and without a stable

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Speaker 1: housing situations, so they may be sleeping on you know,

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Speaker 1: a friend's couch, uh, you know kind of couch surffering

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Speaker 1: from here to there. Um, So you know, these are

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Speaker 1: the uncounted numbers of women, UM who are dealing with

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Speaker 1: those kinds of situations. Yeah, so I'm curious what does

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Speaker 1: homelessness look like for women. I would imagine that a

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Speaker 1: woman who is experiencing homelessness has unique challenges at the

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Speaker 1: male homeless population that he doesn't deal with. No. I

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Speaker 1: think that's absolutely right, and I think some of the

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Speaker 1: those kinds of challenges are obvious. UM. One of the

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Speaker 1: things that we have been working on for the last

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Speaker 1: UM few years is really trying to UM with with

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Speaker 1: the laser focus, address some of those kinds of critical

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Speaker 1: needs like hygiene products. UM. You know, we had a

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Speaker 1: campaign that said a woman shouldn't be able to make

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Speaker 1: it through the night period. UH. And that really, UM

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Speaker 1: speaks to a woman's need to have UM certain items

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Speaker 1: at her disposal UM regularly. UM. And we want to

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Speaker 1: make sure that ladies have those things and are able

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Speaker 1: to you know, maintain a sense of of self and

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Speaker 1: and dignity UM, even when they have you know, regular

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Speaker 1: human needs and and functions happening. UH. So you know,

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Speaker 1: we want to make sure that UM, the ladies who

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Speaker 1: we see are again being able to address their hygiene needs.

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Speaker 1: They're also um, particularly vulnerable to violent It's it's very

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Speaker 1: dangerous if you're on the street, if you're in shelter,

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Speaker 1: um and dangerous at a whole another level for women,

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Speaker 1: particularly women who are alone. UM. So, yeah, women are

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Speaker 1: definitely facing some real serious challenges um as they tackle

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Speaker 1: their stability issues. Yeah. So you mentioned, you know, menstrual products,

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Speaker 1: and that's actually really how I came into being interested

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Speaker 1: in this topic because you know, let's face it, periods

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Speaker 1: are stigmatized. Women who are not effacing homelessness often feel,

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Speaker 1: you know, same or embarrassed about this completely normal, natural

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Speaker 1: bodily function. And if they're the stigma around talking about

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Speaker 1: menstrual supplies and periods for women who are not experiencing homelessness,

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Speaker 1: I can only imagine how that stigma impact these women

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Speaker 1: who aren't facing you know, homelessness, getting the getting access

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Speaker 1: to the materials they need. Right, we don't even really

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Speaker 1: feel comfortable saying things like tampons and periods, and so

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Speaker 1: if we don't talk about it, it must be very

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Speaker 1: hard to ensure that women who need these products get

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Speaker 1: those products. Yeah, not only the products, but you know,

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Speaker 1: the necessary a coultremon like a bath, you know, a shower, UM, clothing. Uh.

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Speaker 1: You know it's certainly you know, nine out of ten women,

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Speaker 1: if not all, women, have had that very embarrassing moment

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Speaker 1: where you need to change UM. And if you are

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Speaker 1: living on the street and if you don't have um,

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Speaker 1: you know, a closet full of clothes at your disposal,

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Speaker 1: then what what do you do? Um? And to you know,

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Speaker 1: walk around with a stain like that is like you said,

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Speaker 1: it further stigmatizes and um and set you apart. So absolutely,

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Speaker 1: we are working hard to make sure that the women

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Speaker 1: can get the hygiene products they need, not only for

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Speaker 1: this evening, but you know, for the duration of their

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Speaker 1: menstrual cycles UM and uh. They don't have to come

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Speaker 1: in and ask for a tampon every day because that

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Speaker 1: is another you know, kind of embarrassing moment to have

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Speaker 1: to request a hygiene product every day. UM. So we

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Speaker 1: really are working hard to help our our ladies have

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Speaker 1: as much dignity around you know, their womanhood as as possible.

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Speaker 1: So that's so true because you know, having having to

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Speaker 1: either a walk around with a stain on your pants

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Speaker 1: because you didn't have access to the product you needed

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Speaker 1: or the sort ofces that you needed or be go

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Speaker 1: in and ask for a tampon or a pad every

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Speaker 1: day and into humanizing and I think, you know, women

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Speaker 1: who are experiencing homelessness have enough on their plate. They

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Speaker 1: don't need to have their you know, normal bodily functions

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Speaker 1: be something that contributes to this, to the offensive same

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Speaker 1: and to a lack of sort of agency and something

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Speaker 1: that can really harm their overall sense of self just

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Speaker 1: because they their body is acting the way that their

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Speaker 1: body was designed to act exactly exactly. And you know,

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Speaker 1: so many of the women that UM that we work

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Speaker 1: with have UM. You know, there there's some stats out

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Speaker 1: there that are suggesting that of the women who are

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Speaker 1: experiencing you know, abject homelessness have are are also victims

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Speaker 1: of sincere and profound trauma. So UM, in addition to

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Speaker 1: having that already as a challenge, Uh, then you have

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Speaker 1: these other moments of complete um, you know, lack of

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Speaker 1: dignity and just a complete shaming moment UM to add

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Speaker 1: to your already traumatized psyche. UM. You know, we are

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Speaker 1: all really working to educate ourselves and UM approaching our

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Speaker 1: ladies with a really trauma informed strategy so that we

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Speaker 1: can get to some of the information that UM women

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Speaker 1: really harbor. They don't feel comfortable telling, you know, they're

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Speaker 1: embarrassed to share some aspects of their lives. UM, hence

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Speaker 1: we are not able to address them those issues. So

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Speaker 1: um yeah, uh, domestic violence is a huge issue amongst

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Speaker 1: the ladies. And again, so many of them are homeless

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Speaker 1: because they are fleeing situations of domestic allowlence. And that's

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Speaker 1: so sad that it's sort of magnifies You're already in

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Speaker 1: this scary situation. You're already vulnerable and winding up, you know,

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Speaker 1: experiencing homelessness for a woman who's already in a marginalized

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Speaker 1: situation or a vulnerable situation, that's just so scary. And

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Speaker 1: I can imagine how how lonely that must feel, how

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Speaker 1: you feel like you can't talk to anybody about what's

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Speaker 1: going on, and how things just snowball until you don't

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Speaker 1: have a place. And that's just it makes me so

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Speaker 1: sad that we've failed let's a large population of our citizenry. Yeah. Absolutely,

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Speaker 1: And then you have to also think about the ripple

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Speaker 1: effects that have because you know, so many of our

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Speaker 1: UM women are are mothers, you know, UM, so their

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Speaker 1: children are UM affected by their sense of self or

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Speaker 1: lack of self and and their situations. UM. You know,

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Speaker 1: there is a distinct ripple UM effect that happens UM

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Speaker 1: to the whole family UM when these women are uncared

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Speaker 1: for and UM and unsupported. I bear that the overwhelming

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Speaker 1: majority of homeless families are actually headed by women. So

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Speaker 1: what if what is having a family look like when

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Speaker 1: you're experiencing homelessness? What does this mean for child care?

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Speaker 1: And what's going on with these families? These are all

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Speaker 1: day to day challenges that these families face. UM. If

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Speaker 1: you are UM, you know, if you have small children,

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Speaker 1: then you are you know, quite literally having them in

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Speaker 1: your company all day long as you try to manage

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Speaker 1: your life and figure out where you're gonna sleep and

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Speaker 1: where you're gonna eat, and where you're gonna shower and

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Speaker 1: where you're gonna wash, you know, and you're kind of

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Speaker 1: you know, have your children until throughout that whole experience.

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Speaker 1: You know, if you if your children at school aged,

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Speaker 1: you might be able to UM have them in school

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Speaker 1: while you're trying to figure out day to day survival

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Speaker 1: UM things. But for the most part, UM, you know,

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Speaker 1: the children are as destabilized UM it's not more so

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Speaker 1: as the women are as a UM, as that family

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Speaker 1: really works towards, you know, gaining some independence and stability. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I can't even imagine how challenging that must be for

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Speaker 1: these families and these children and these women. I honestly

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Speaker 1: can't even imagine. The one thing that I'm sort of

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Speaker 1: interested in, and I wondered if you had opinions on

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Speaker 1: is you know, we live in a country with a

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Speaker 1: gender pay disparity. Do you think this is something that

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Speaker 1: impacts email homelessness? Absolutely? Um, But you know, that is

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Speaker 1: an issue that feels fairly far off for a lot

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Speaker 1: of the women we're dealing with. Um. You know, if

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Speaker 1: we can get them in a, um, a minimum wage job,

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Speaker 1: that is a huge accomplishment in many cases. UM, if

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Speaker 1: we can get them into a living wage job, that

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Speaker 1: is an incredible accomplishment. So to even begin to address

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Speaker 1: gender pay despair, these seems far off. Um. We we

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Speaker 1: are really at the level of getting employed and getting

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Speaker 1: a place to lay your head, you know. So I'm

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Speaker 1: I'm you know, while I'm sure that that is an

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Speaker 1: issue that affects these women, UM, we we can't even

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Speaker 1: get them employed, you know, uh much less begin to

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Speaker 1: advocate on behalf of pay equity. Yeah, I mean it's

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Speaker 1: I'm certain that pay equity impacts female homelessness. But it's

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Speaker 1: one of those things where you know, if you're in

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Speaker 1: a boat that has a hole in it, right there

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Speaker 1: are things because gonna make the boat better, but you've

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Speaker 1: got a hole in your boat. You need to address

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Speaker 1: that right now. I think that's right, And you know,

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Speaker 1: it's really what the model that Thrive GC has employed.

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Speaker 1: We have UM a layer of uh a couple of

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Speaker 1: levels of service. One is our emergency services. So you

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Speaker 1: can come in, you can eat, you know, and get

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Speaker 1: a hot meal, you can wash your clothes, you can

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Speaker 1: take a shower, you can see a case manager, you

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Speaker 1: can you know, maybe get on the computer and just

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Speaker 1: kind of and you know, get your hygiene products and

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Speaker 1: and everything um that you need to kind of take

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Speaker 1: care of yourself and get those things kind of off

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Speaker 1: your mind, you know, and then you can start to think,

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Speaker 1: you know, once you're clean and feel better and are fed,

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Speaker 1: you can start to think about next steps. And then

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Speaker 1: we have what we call our step up programs. So

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Speaker 1: these involved employment and UM other times of support like

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Speaker 1: substance abuse support, re entry support for those um individuals

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Speaker 1: who are returning citizens and have an additional layer of challenge.

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Speaker 1: So um we uh. And we also have pantry services,

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Speaker 1: so we have really tried to create some tears of

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Speaker 1: servicing that can help assist folks really you know, um

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Speaker 1: get towards that sense of self sufficiency. Let's take a

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Speaker 1: quick break. Here's more from Alicia. I have to admit

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Speaker 1: some my own sort of blind spots here. Uh. The

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Speaker 1: model of Drive DC, I think, is one that is

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Speaker 1: particularly special. When I came into the issue of wanting

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Speaker 1: to get involved in the fight against homelessness. Of course,

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Speaker 1: you know, lefty me high in the sky, I'm making

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Speaker 1: high level. I'm like, okay, if I want to help

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Speaker 1: people who are experiencing homelessness, you know, put me to work.

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Speaker 1: What can I do? I want to read their mess

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Speaker 1: I want to help them get stubs. I want to

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Speaker 1: do this, I want to do that. And you know

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Speaker 1: when when I when I found Thrive d C, it

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Speaker 1: was like, oh, they need tampons, they need socks, they

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Speaker 1: need you know, it re grounded me and exactly what

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Speaker 1: you're saying that, you know, you got to think about

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Speaker 1: if you're someone who is experiencing homelessness, you might just

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Speaker 1: need a good meal and a pair of good socks

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Speaker 1: and a shower, and then you can think about, you know,

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Speaker 1: all these other things. But I think with an issue

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Speaker 1: like homelessness, we can sort of get hung up in

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Speaker 1: wanting to combat it in a way that I think

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Speaker 1: is is you know, has the heart in the right place,

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Speaker 1: in a high level way, when really you can be

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Speaker 1: so help full in the ways that are less glamorous

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Speaker 1: but still really impactable. Absolutely absolutely, you know. UM. We

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Speaker 1: are certainly UM support and promote a housing first model,

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Speaker 1: which is to get people in housing, but we also

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Speaker 1: recognize that there are many extenuating circumstances that keep people

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Speaker 1: UM destabilized and unhoused. We have UM several clients who

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Speaker 1: are really grappling with some severe mental health issues, and

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Speaker 1: you can put them in housing, but if their mental

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Speaker 1: health issues are not supported, they won't stay in housing,

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Speaker 1: you know, because for whatever reasons, UM, you know, they

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Speaker 1: are paranoid or whatever, they just can't support themselves UM

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Speaker 1: in housing. So you really have to address this UM

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Speaker 1: issue from a three hundred and sixty degree perspective and

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Speaker 1: make sure that there are really very uh inclusive wrap

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Speaker 1: around services to make sure that people are are safe,

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Speaker 1: are supported, and UM are able to stay in a

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Speaker 1: in a in a home that's provided. For instance, your

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Speaker 1: your initial question about UM an individual who's escaping domestic violence.

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Speaker 1: Now you can put a mom and a family in

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Speaker 1: a home, and if the abuser finds that family, then

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Speaker 1: she's going to leave, you know, so you have to

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Speaker 1: make sure that that is a safe location, that she

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Speaker 1: has the support to UM you know, safeguard her family,

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Speaker 1: and you know, whatever legal UM recourses is available to

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Speaker 1: her that she can employ that to make sure that

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Speaker 1: she stays safe once she's housed, or it's all for

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Speaker 1: not you know. So I just I really do encourage

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Speaker 1: people to think UM globally about how to help somebody

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Speaker 1: UM be a successfully housed individual or family. I'm so

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Speaker 1: inspired for my conversation with Alicia, but it went against

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Speaker 1: my usual birthday tradition of doing pretty much nothing and

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Speaker 1: hosted a few add Spinty listeners along with my friend

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Speaker 1: Spencer from Thrive to collect mental supplies for DC's women.

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Speaker 1: If you weren't able to make it, here's a little

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Speaker 1: taste of how that went down. Like a lot of

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Speaker 1: people are super fortunate to be able to go to

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Speaker 1: the grocery store or CBS or go home and have

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Speaker 1: peace products available. But people experience homelessness, are in low

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Speaker 1: income situations don't always have that option, and they have

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Speaker 1: the added burden of not knowing where their next meal

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Speaker 1: is coming from or where they're going to stay for

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Speaker 1: the night. And for people who get periods and have

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Speaker 1: that situation, it's an added stress where they don't always

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Speaker 1: have pass and tampons and maybe have to use creel

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Speaker 1: a paper or ruined the only clothes that they have

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Speaker 1: UM and having you find out where they can do

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Speaker 1: laundry and adds a lot more stress. So we're really

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Speaker 1: trying to take that take added stresses away and give

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Speaker 1: them these basic necessities. Not everybody thinks about as basic necessities.

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Speaker 1: It's often thought of as like a privileged product or UM.

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Speaker 1: I mean there's tax tampons and paths as well too,

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Speaker 1: so it's not thought of as something that we absolutely need,

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Speaker 1: and we want to like make people realize that it

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Speaker 1: is something we these women really really need and to

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Speaker 1: be sanitary and healthy. But yeah, so that's really cool

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Speaker 1: that you guys are supporting this UM and using you know,

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Speaker 1: the knowledge you have about it, and spreading the word

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Speaker 1: is giving um people who don't have these items and

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Speaker 1: that they need to get through the day and um,

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Speaker 1: you know, get through a tough situation. So many people

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Speaker 1: will get in to period every month and it's just

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Speaker 1: be this thing where we're like embarrassed about it. But

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Speaker 1: as I mentioned to the thrived effective tractor, they really

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Speaker 1: think that because periods are stigmatized for everyone, whether you're

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Speaker 1: homeless or not, it impact these folks getting what they need.

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Speaker 1: And so if if herrings are sequatized and talk to

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Speaker 1: me are supertized, can here is grousing homelessness, this thing

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Speaker 1: that we don't even want to talk about or acknowledge this,

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Speaker 1: you know, it may be a barrier to you getting

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Speaker 1: what you need to have a safe and Santa during night.

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Speaker 1: If you're you're already marginalizing, that's that's really tough and

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Speaker 1: I want to do I think that we should change

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Speaker 1: that right, Like talking about periods shouldn't be this scary,

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Speaker 1: said upsetting thing. It's it's a normal thing that a

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Speaker 1: lot of holkscat every moment and we should talk about it. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we've started with our staff where nobody on our staff

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Speaker 1: male or female, is we talk about adult diapers every day, tampons,

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Speaker 1: pads like It's like the women in our program feel

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Speaker 1: comfortable going to men or women or female or male

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Speaker 1: staff members UM asking them for those products. UM. And

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Speaker 1: I think it's really cool that we've created this culture

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Speaker 1: of being comfortable with these products and are just normal things.

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Speaker 1: They're not something like you're it's not a stigma, it's

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Speaker 1: not something embarrassing. It's just everyday life. And I think

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Speaker 1: you just have to like talk about it a lot,

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Speaker 1: and it just needs to be normal and you just

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Speaker 1: have to bring it up and not be like doubt

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Speaker 1: and starts with making it everyday thing. Let's take a

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Speaker 1: quick break and we're back. Suncer and Alicia are right.

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Speaker 1: Just because a woman is experiencing homelessness doesn't mean she

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Speaker 1: doesn't deserve to have a happy, safe and sanitary period.

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Speaker 1: Getting your period is bad enough, it shouldn't also be

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Speaker 1: a situation that robs you of your dignity. If you agree,

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Speaker 1: here's what Alicia says you should do. Listen. We head

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Speaker 1: over volunteers join us in our work UM just in

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Speaker 1: two thousand seventeen, and we anticipate that many or more.

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Speaker 1: And it really does take a village to uh to

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Speaker 1: do the work that we're doing and to really successfully

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Speaker 1: take people from a place of homelessness and and housing

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Speaker 1: insecurity and and food instability to a real place of

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Speaker 1: self sufficiency and independence. And um, everyone and all of

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Speaker 1: their talents are welcomed here at Throve DC. If you're

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Speaker 1: able to uh do a zoomba class or a yoga

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Speaker 1: class or something, bring that here to thrive and help

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Speaker 1: support our folks who are working so hard to take

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Speaker 1: next steps towards their own stability. I love that. So

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Speaker 1: any if we have any zoomba or yoga and stuffing,

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Speaker 1: got there, get your best out to DC and help

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Speaker 1: it great that skill that's right, that's right, and any

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Speaker 1: other skill, yeah, all of it, all the skills. So

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Speaker 1: books who are listening outside of DC, what would you

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Speaker 1: recommend you know, let's say that you have a big

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Speaker 1: heart for combating this issue. What can be done through

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Speaker 1: about a national level? Is there is there legislation folks

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Speaker 1: to be looking out for their ways that folks can

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Speaker 1: make their voice heard. But it doesn't just feel like,

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Speaker 1: you know, it's this unwinnable fight. Absolutely, I think, um

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Speaker 1: really starting at the local level. Wherever you are, there

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Speaker 1: is an agency and organizations who is working to this end.

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Speaker 1: UM join forces with them, UH be cognizant of what

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Speaker 1: their needs are so that they can help promote your

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Speaker 1: voice and have you, you know, gather strengths and numbers

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Speaker 1: among UM the individuals in that community to make their

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Speaker 1: voices heard UM. And then certainly at the national level,

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Speaker 1: there are many UM national organizations that are addressing this

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Speaker 1: issue that people can join. And that's all for the

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Speaker 1: Google you know, you can google it and figure out

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Speaker 1: the National UM Coalition for Housing and many more that

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Speaker 1: are UM prepared and will welcome uh you know support.

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Speaker 1: So all I want for my birthday is for you,

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Speaker 1: yes you sminthy listener, listening on your hellish commute to

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Speaker 1: work or working out at the gym or cooking at home.

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Speaker 1: All I want is for you to find a way

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Speaker 1: to act on this issue in your local community. Make

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Speaker 1: a donation, donate Tampon's teach a Zoomba class. I know

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Speaker 1: it's a little cheesy, but remember, creating change means thinking

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Speaker 1: globally but acting locally, and you really want to hear

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Speaker 1: from you let us know how you're acting on this issue.

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Speaker 1: You can find us on Instagram at Stuff I've Never

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Speaker 1: Told You, on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast, and as always,

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Speaker 1: we love getting your emails at mom stuff at how

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Speaker 1: stuff works dot com m